How can we be sure that an ancient Bible is a genuine original, and not some kind of “counterfeit” made to look ancient?
Actually that sort of thing simply does not happen. In the 16 years we have been in this business, we have never once heard of any dealer, anywhere, trying to pass off a “fake” as an antiquarian Bible. They simply cannot be counterfeited in such a way that would fool even the most naïve of people. One cannot manufacture “aged” rag cotton linen sheets, nor convincingly duplicate the irregular and uneven appearance of print from an ancient moveable-type press. To even attempt to do so, and do it well, would cost more money than all but the most expensive of the genuine originals would be worth… so there is no incentive. Much like ancient gold coins or classic automobiles, this is an arena in which “fakes” have simply never been convincingly attempted by anyone. True, we sell “facsimile reproductions” ourselves on this website… but they are merely a photographic imaging that is100% identical to the textual appearance of the originals for study purposes. They do not have the physical struc
